Sauron
Sauron is the main antagonist and titular character in LEGO The Lord of the Rings and J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as the Necromancer from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit. In Tolkien's The Silmarillion (published posthumously by Tolkien's son Christopher Tolkien), he is also revealed to have been the chief lieutenant of the first Dark Lord, Morgoth. Tolkien noted that the "angelic" powers of his constructed myth "were capable of many degrees of error and failing", but by far the worst was "the absolute Satanic rebellion and evil of Morgoth and his satellite Sauron". Lore 'Before creation of the world' The cosmological myth prefixed to The Silmarillion explains how the supreme being Eru initiated his creation by bringing into being innumerable spirits, "the offspring of his thought", who were with him before anything else had been made. The being later known as Sauron thus originated as an "immortal (angelic) spirit". In the terminology of Tolkien's invented language of Quenya, these angelic spirits were called Ainur. Those who entered the physical world were called Valar, especially the most powerful ones. The lesser beings who entered the world, of whom Sauron was one, were called Maiar. In Tolkien's letters, the author noted that Sauron "was of course a 'divine' person (in the terms of this mythology; a lesser member of the race of Valar)". Though less mighty than the chief Valar, he was more powerful than many of his fellow Maiar; Tolkien noted that he was of a "far higher order" than the Maiar who later came to Middle-earth as the Wizards Gandalf and Saruman. As created by Eru, the Ainur were all good and uncorrupt, as Elrond stated in The Lord of the Rings: "Nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so." Rebellion originated with the Vala Melkor (Morgoth). According to a story meant as a parable of events beyond Elvish comprehension, Eru let his spirit-children perform a great Music, the Music of the Ainur (Ainulindalë), developing a theme revealed by Eru himself. For a while the cosmic choir made wondrous music, but then Melkor tried to increase his own glory by weaving into his song thoughts and ideas that were not in accordance with the original theme. "Straightway discord arose around him, and many that sang nigh him grew despondent ... but some began to attune their music to his rather than to the thought which they had at first." The discord Melkor created would have dire consequences, as this singing was a kind of template for the world: "The evils of the world were not at first in the great Theme, but entered with the discords of Melkor." However, "Sauron was not a beginner of discord; and he probably knew more of the Music than did Melkor, whose mind had always been filled with his own plans and devices." Apparently Sauron was not even one of the spirits that immediately began to attune their music to that of Melkor, since it is noted elsewhere that his fall occurred later. The cosmic Music now represented the conflict between good and evil. Finally, Eru abruptly brought the Song of Creation to an end. To show the spirits, faithful or otherwise, what they had done, Eru gave independent being to the now-marred Music. This resulted in the manifestation of the material World, Eä, where the drama of good and evil would play out and be resolved. Eru allowed the spirits who so wished to enter into the new world of Eä and follow its history from inside. Many did so, Sauron among them. By granting free will to enter into Eä, Eru allowed great evil, as well as great good. 'First Age' Entering Eä at the beginning of time, the Valar and Maiar tried to build and organise the world according to the will of Eru. Each Maia was associated with one of the powerful Valar whom they served; for example, Ossë and Uinen, who were spirits of the sea, served Ulmo, the lord of the oceans. Sauron was prominent among the Maiar who served Aulë the Smith, the great craftsman of the Valar. As a result, Sauron came to possess great knowledge of the physical substances of the world, forging, and all manner of craftsmanship—emerging as "a great craftsman of the household of Aulë". Sauron would always retain the "scientific" knowledge he derived from the great Vala of Craft: "In his beginning he was of the Maiar of Aulë, and he remained mighty in the lore of that people." Sauron's original name was Mairon (the Admirable), but this name was changed to Sauron after he joined Melkor. However, during the Second Age Sauron continued to call himself Tar-Mairon (Lord Mairon). 'Sauron's fall' Melkor opposed the other Valar, who remained faithful to Eru and tried to carry out the Creator's designs. Within the larger universe, they eventually focused on developing the world of Arda (Earth, or the entire solar system). Around this time, Sauron fell victim to Melkor's corrupting influence: "In the beginning of Arda Melkor seduced him to his allegiance." As for Sauron's motives, Tolkien noted that "it had been his virtue (and therefore also the cause of his fall ...) that he loved order and coordination, and disliked all confusion and wasteful friction." Thus "it was the apparent will and power of Melkor to effect his designs quickly and masterfully that had first attracted Sauron to him." This shows one of the great paradoxes of Sauron: he wanted order and industry, but followed Melkor's destructive and chaotic path to obtain it. For a while, Sauron apparently kept up the pretence that he was a faithful servant of the Valar, all the while feeding Melkor information about their doings. Thus, when the Valar made Almaren as their first physical abode in the world, "Melkor knew of all that was done; for even then he had secret friends and spies among the Maiar whom he had converted to his cause, and of these the chief, as after became known, was Sauron." Melkor soon destroyed Almaren, and the Valar established a new abode in the Uttermost West: the Blessed Realm of Valinor. They still did not perceive Sauron's treachery, for he too became "a being of Valinor". At some point, Sauron left the Blessed Realm and went to Middle-earth, the central continent of Arda, where Melkor had established his stronghold. In one text, Tolkien wrote of Sauron that "in Valinor he had dwelt among the people of the gods, but there Morgoth had drawn him to evil and to his service". Sauron deserted his service to the Valar and openly joined their great enemy: "Because of his admiration of Strength he had become a follower of Morgoth and fell with him down into the depths of evil." 'The Lieutenant of Melkor' After joining his new master in Middle-earth, Sauron proved to be a devoted and capable servant: "While Morgoth still stood, Sauron did not seek his own supremacy, but worked and schemed for another, desiring the triumph of Melkor, whom in the beginning he had adored. He thus was often able to achieve things, first conceived by Melkor, which his master did not or could not complete in the furious haste of his malice." "In all the deeds of Melkor the Morgoth upon Arda, in his vast works and in the deceits of his cunning, Sauron had a part." In chapter three of The Silmarillion, Tolkien writes that by the time the Elves awoke in the world, Sauron had become Melkor's lieutenant and was given command over the newly built stronghold of Angband. To protect the Elves, the Valar made war on Melkor and captured him, but could not find Sauron. Thus, "when Melkor was made captive, Sauron escaped and lay hid in Middle-earth; and it can in this way be understood how the breeding of the Orcs (no doubt already begun) went on with increasing speed". In the Blessed Realm, Melkor feigned reform, but eventually escaped back to Middle-earth, holding the Silmarils of Fëanor. By then, Sauron had "secretly repaired Angband for the help of his Master when he returned; and there the dark places underground were already manned with hosts of the Orcs before Melkor came back at last, as Morgoth the Black Enemy". Shortly after the return of Morgoth, the Noldorin Elves also left the Blessed Realm of Valinor in the Uttermost West, against the counsel of the Valar, to wage war on Morgoth, who had stolen the Silmarils. In that war, Sauron served as Morgoth's chief lieutenant, surpassing all others in rank, such as Gothmog, the Lord of Balrogs. Known as Gorthaur the Cruel, Sauron was at that time a master of illusions and shapeshifting; werewolves and vampires were his servants, chief among them Draugluin, Father of Werewolves, and his vampire herald Thuringwethil. When Morgoth left Angband to corrupt the newly discovered Men, Sauron directed the war against the Elves. He conquered the Elvish island of Tol Sirion and its watchtower Minas Tirith, so that it became known as Tol-in-Gaurhoth, the Isle of Werewolves. Ten years later, Finrod Felagund, the king of Nargothrond and former lord of Tol Sirion, came there with Beren. He battled Sauron using sorcery but was defeated (in part because of the curse of Fëanor). Later, he died fighting a wolf in Sauron's dungeons to save Beren. Soon afterwards Lúthien and Huan the Wolfhound arrived, hoping to rescue Beren. Aware of a prophecy to the effect that Huan would be killed by the greatest wolf ever, Sauron himself assumed a monstrous wolf-like form and attacked him. But the prophecy actually applied to the still-unborn Carcharoth, and Sauron could not prevail against Huan. Eventually, Huan had Sauron by the throat. Lúthien gave Sauron two options: either surrender to her the magical control he had established over Tol-in-Gaurhoth, or have his body destroyed so that his naked ghost would have to endure the scorn of Morgoth. Sauron yielded, and Huan let him go. Lúthien destroyed the tower and rescued Beren from the dungeons. Following the voyage of Eärendil to the Blessed Realm, the Valar finally moved against Morgoth. In the resulting War of Wrath, the Dark Lord was defeated and cast into the Outer Void beyond the world. But "Sauron fled from the Great Battle and escaped". Chastened, Sauron assumed his most beautiful form and approached Eönwë, emissary of the Valar, who nevertheless could not pardon a Maia like himself. Through Eönwë, Manwë as Lord of the Valar "commanded Sauron to come before him for judgement, but he had left room for repentance and ultimate rehabilitation". Although Sauron's repentance before Eönwë was genuine, if out of fear, he was ashamed to return to Valinor and receive a judgement or sentence due to his long service to Melkor. Furthermore, the influence of his former master was still strong, so he escaped and hid in Middle-earth. 'Second Age' About 500 years into the Second Age, Sauron reappeared. "Bereft of his lord...he fell into the folly of imitating him". "Very slowly, beginning with fair motives: the reorganizing and rehabilitation of Middle-earth, 'neglected by the gods,' he becomes a reincarnation of Evil, and a thing lusting for Complete Power", eventually rising to become "master and god of Men". As for Sauron's "fair motives", Tolkien emphasized that at this time he "was not indeed wholly evil, not unless all 'reformers' who want to hurry up with 'reconstruction' and 'reorganization' are wholly evil, even before pride and the lust to exert their will eat them up". "Though the only real good in, or rational motive for, all this ordering and planning and organization was the good of all inhabitants of Arda (even admitting Sauron's right to be their supreme lord), his 'plans', the idea coming from his own isolated mind, became the sole object of his will, and an end, the End, in itself. ... His capability of corrupting other minds, and even engaging their service, was a residue from the fact that his original desire for 'order' had really envisaged the good estate (especially physical well-being) of his 'subjects'." 'The Rings of Power' As part of a plan to seduce the Elves into his service, Sauron assumed a beautiful appearance as Annatar, "Lord of Gifts", befriended the Elven-smiths of Eregion, led by Celebrimbor, and counselled them in arts and magic. Sauron hinted that he was an emissary of the Valar, specifically of Aulë, whom the Noldor in Exile held in high regard. Some of the Elves distrusted him, especially the Lady Galadriel and Gil-galad, the High King of the Noldor. The Elves in Eregion, however, did not heed their warnings. With Sauron's assistance, the Elven-smiths forged the Rings of Power, which conferred great power upon their bearers. He then secretly forged the One Ring in the volcanic Mount Doom in Mordor. This "One Ring to rule them all" had the power to dominate the other Rings and enslave their wearers to Sauron's will. The Rings of Power were extremely potent, however; to create an instrument that could dominate even them, Sauron was forced to transfer a great part of his native power into it. Yet "while he wore it, his power on earth was actually enhanced". Sauron's plan would have succeeded had the Elves not detected his influence when he put on the One Ring. It was then the Elves saw him for who he really was, removed their Rings, and did not use them for as long as Sauron retained the One Ring. Enraged, Sauron initiated a great war and conquered much of the land west of Anduin. The Three Rings, however, had been forged by Celebrimbor himself without Sauron's help. These rings were saved and remained in the hands of the Elves, specifically Gil-galad, Círdan, and Galadriel. This began the Dark Years. Sauron overran Eregion, killed Celebrimbor, leader of the Elven-smiths, and seized the Seven and the Nine Rings of Power that had been previously forged with his assistance. Sauron besieged Imladris, battled Moria and Lothlórien, and pushed further into Gil-galad's realm. The Elves were hard pressed to defend Lindon and the Havens, but in the nick of time the powerful army from Númenor arrived to their aid, defeating Sauron's forces and driving the remnant back to Mordor. The Númenóreans were descended from the Three Houses of the Edain who helped the Elves in their war against Morgoth. They lived on the island of Númenor in the seas between Middle-earth and Valinor, a reward for their service from the Valar, and theirs was the most powerful kingdom of Men at this time. In Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn" states that Sauron and his bodyguard were all that was left of his original army. Gil-galad's power after the War was such that Sauron was unable to move out of Mordor for some time. 'Resurgence from Mordor' From this time on, Sauron became known as the Dark Lord of Mordor. Sauron fortified Mordor and completed the Dark Tower of Barad-dûr, already centuries in the building. He distributed the remaining rings of the Seven and the Nine to lords of Dwarves and Men. Dwarves proved too resilient to bend to his will, but the Men were enslaved by Sauron as the Nazgûl, his most feared servants. Well aware of the strength of the Númenóreans after his earlier defeat, Sauron withdrew from the coasts and for a long time avoided directly challenging them, although he managed to use some of the Nine rings to snare three of their great lords. Sauron regained control over most of the creatures that had served Morgoth in the First Age (such as Orcs and Trolls). Sauron also gained power over most of the Men in the East and the South, becoming their god-king. Toward the end of the Second Age, as the Númenóreans withdrew from the coasts after their people were divided by strife over the fear of death, Sauron began assailing their Middle-earth strongholds and assumed the titles of Lord of the Earth and King of Men. 'Destruction of Númenor' Toward the end of the Second Age, Ar-Pharazôn, who would turn out to be the last and most powerful of the Númenórean kings, had just ascended to the throne when he was angered by reports of Sauron's increasing power. In a show of force, Ar-Pharazôn led a massive army to Middle-earth to reassert Númenórean dominance. Sauron, realizing he could not defeat the Númenóreans with military strength, surrendered. Clad in a beautiful incarnation, he came to Ar-Pharazôn's camp to swear allegiance to the king, and allowed himself to be taken as a prisoner to Númenor. This was part of his plan to corrupt Númenórean civilization from inside. "Sauron's personal 'surrender' was voluntary and cunning: he got free transport to Númenor." When Ar-Pharazôn in his arrogance took Sauron hostage, he failed to realise with whom he was dealing: Sauron "was of course a 'divine' person ... and thus far too powerful to be controlled in this way. He steadily got Arpharazôn's sic mind under his own control, and in the event corrupted many of the Númenóreans." The Akallabêth, the account of the history of Númenor, does not specifically mention the One Ring much, and it has been suggested that Sauron left it at Barad-dûr before he became a hostage of Ar-Pharazôn. In his letters, however, Tolkien noted that Sauron "naturally had the One Ring, and so very soon dominated the minds and wills of most of the Númenóreans." Through the power of the Ring, Sauron soon became an advisor of the king, and he used his influence to undermine the religion of Númenor. Besides introducing the worship of Melkor, Sauron also helped the people to design greater engines and amass more wealth, and soon the Númenoreans returned to Middle-earth where they cruelly hunted and enslaved the Men there for eventual sacrifice. While Sauron ruled behind the scenes, Ar-Pharazôn became the mightiest tyrant in the world since Melkor-Morgoth himself. Set Appearances *LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game Gallery Sauron Second Age.jpg|Sauron, Second Age Sauron2.jpg Sauron.jpg %%%%.jpg|Sauron about to "explode" in the Prologue level of the video game Head of Sauron.jpg|Sauron's helmet Eye.png|The eye of Sauron Sauron_Annatar.jpg|Annatar Category:Antagonist Category:Video Game Exclusive Category:2012 Category:The Fellowship of the Ring Category:The Hobbit Category:The Two Towers Category:The Return of the King Category:An Unexpected Journey Category:Male Category:Characters in The Hobbit Category:The Lord of the Rings Category:Characters in The Lord of the Rings Category:Characters in The Silmarillion Category:Characters in the Unfinished Tales